Kerala’s CPI(M)-led Opposition lDF on Tuesday ended its blockade of the State Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram over the infamous solar scam within minutes of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy announcing a judicial probe into the scandal in which he and his office were allegedly involved. The Secretariat siege had started on Monday morning.
A judicial probe and resignation of Chandy as CM before the launch of the probe were the two demands over which the CPI(M)-led lDF laid siege to the Secretariat. The lDF observed that its stir was a huge success as the Government had to accept 50 per cent of its demands within 28 hours since it started. However, Chandy once again rejected the demand for his resignation.
Nearly 50,000 lDF workers who had converged on the Kerala capital for the blockade started returning to their native places on Monday afternoon after leaders told them that the agitation had been a huge success as was proved with the announcement of judicial probe. However, the left said agitations in other forms would continue to force Chandy to resign.
After a meeting of the UDF leadership on Monday morning, Chandy told mediapersons that a judicial probe by a sitting judge of the High Court would be held into the solar scam after the Kerala Police’s special investigation team probing it currently submitted chargesheets in the crucial case related to it by Friday.
“We had even earlier expressed readiness for a judicial probe once the current probe was over. We would like to discuss the terms of reference of the probe with the Opposition. If they are ready for talks their suggestions would be taken into consideration,” Chandy said, but added that his office would not come under the purview of the judicial probe.
Welcoming the left’s decision to suspend the agitation in response to the announcement of the judicial probe, Chandy said the Government would appeal to the Chief Justice of Kerala to make available the services of a sitting judge. However, legal experts said it was unlikely for the Government to get the services of a sitting judge.
The instant reaction of the Opposition to Chandy’s announcement was that it was not acceptable as they wanted his resignation to be made the pre-condition for any settlement but a meeting of the lDF leadership held later came to the conclusion that the siege could be withdrawn as the Government had “knelt before the agitation”.
However, criticisms have already come up against the lDF leadership from workers of the main constituent parties of the coalition, especially the CPI(M), for ending the siege without achieving the primary goal - resignation of the Chief Minister. Several CPI(M) activists from the northern districts shared this thinking with journalists.
But most of the top-rung lDF leaders are of the opinion that the siege had proved to be a huge success because the Government had accepted one of the two demands “with just one day’s experience”. leaders say that the announcement of the judicial probe is the first step towards Chandy’s resignation.
The siege of the Secretariat by lDF activists had started at 10 am on Monday by blocking three of the four entry points to the State’s administrative nerve-centre.